A Hand to Hold
by reddochu
Summary: When Souji had called him earlier that day, he'd been expecting him to talk about video games or TV shows or something like that- not to be asked out on a date.


He didn't know why he was doing this.

When Souji had called him earlier that day, he'd been expecting him to talk about video games or TV shows or something like that- not to be asked out on a date. A play date, to be exact. With Nanako. As much as he liked the little girl, going out to watch stars in the middle of a winter night wasn't really something he found appealing. He'd accepted, though, but like he said: he didn't know why. Maybe it was because Nanako was too cute to say no to; maybe it was because the stubborn edge to Souji's voice said he didn't really have a choice.

Maybe it was just because Yosuke had a raging crush on the silver haired boy and didn't really think things through.

Just admitting his crush to himself in his head had an immediate effect (just because he'd finally recognized it didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing), and the brunet's cheeks flushed instantly. The cold had already dyed his face red, though, the blush only granting it a slightly deeper color. With frozen fingers, Yosuke zipped up his jacket the rest of the way, grateful for the scarf around his neck. Winter weather was cold enough during the day, but at night it was a little less than pleasant;if Souji would hurry up a bit, that would be great.

"Yosuke!"

Speak of the devil.

Glancing in the direction of the voice, his partner's calm face came into sight, both he and Nanako waving as they approached, hand in hand. His stomach did a flip flop as soon as a smile graced that stupidly nice face, but Yosuke couldn't help but grin back. As cool as Souji looked sometimes, whenever he was with Nanako, you could see his true colors: that of an idiot doting brother. With the all the clothes the girl had on, Yosuke was surprised she could still walk without looking like a penguin. Turning his grin towards Nanako, he said: "Someone's got a bunch of layers on!"

"Yeah," she replied cheerily as she and Souji reached him. "Big Bro wouldn't let me go unless I wore a lot of clothes!"

At that, Yosuke cocked a brow at his friend, grin contorting into a silently amused smirk; he was consequently met with an impassive stare and a light punch to the shoulder.

"Sorry," his best friend said, "Did you wait long?"

_Yeah, I did_, he wanted to say. _Look at my nose, my ears! You don't get that red unless you've been standing in the cold_.

"Nah, I just got here." Well, that wasn't what he'd been planning to say- and judging from the skeptic look on Souji's face, he knew that, too. Before his partner could say anything, though, he changed the topic, head tilting slightly with curiosity. "So, why'd you ask me along on your play date?

"Ah," Souji began, "That's-"

"I want Big Bro to have fun, too," Nanako interrupted, smiling up at them. "So I asked if you could come, too, since he always has a lot of fun when you're around."

Yosuke blinked, his face suddenly not feeling cold at all; his eyes flickered towards the other boy, but Souji wasn't looking at him. Rather, his eyes were focused on the bottom of the hill- their stargazing destination- and his finger pointed in the same direction.

"That's where we're going," he said, not looking at his friend. "So… Let's go." Even though Yosuke nodded, his eyes didn't move (had Souji's face been that red a minute ago?).

"Let's go."

* * *

Cold as it was, Yosuke couldn't say he hated looking at the stars. They were actually beautiful, in his opinion- glimmers of light in a dark and endless sky. Lying in the grass and being able to turn his head and look at Souji's face close up wasn't all too bad, either; Nananko cuddled up to her big brother on his other side, pointing out random stars and asking what they were called. Souji, with his (seemingly infinite) vast knowledge, would look up and begin to tell her all about it, picking out constellations to tell her stories about. Once in a while, Yosuke would glance over to his friend, see his face covered in moonlight and his eyes full of stars, then promptly forget to breathe. It was alright, though, because the silver haired boy never noticed. Only once did he glance over at Yosuke, and that was only when he sat back up, Nanako wrapping her arms around his waist ("I'm not bored" Yosuke had told him, knowing what that silent gaze was asking).

At some point, Souji had ceased talking, simply staring up at the starlit sky with a serene expression on his face. Soft snores came from his side, and Yosuke shifted into a sitting position, glancing at his friend.

"She's asleep, isn't she?" He whispered this, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah."

"You don't wanna wake her up, do you?"

"Nope." A soft smile graced the doting brother's lips, and at that moment, Yosuke realized that Souji Seta might just be the most beautiful person in the world (it isn't fair, he thinks, that a guy can look even prettier than Rise). "It's alright if you go home now. I don't mind."

"Dude, you're totally gonna freeze, you know."

"Yeah, I know." A perplexed look crossed the brunet's face, and Souji chuckled in response; Yosuke just frowned inwardly at the dumb way his stomach flutters. After a moment, he sighs, then runs a hand through his hair. Typical Souji.

"I can lend you my scarf, I guess." He paused, then grinned and sighed again, this time melodramatically. "It's like I'm a mom looking out for my super forgetful son."

The silver haired boy snorted at that, cocking a brow as an amused smirk crossed his face. "If anything, it's the other way around. …But yeah, I'd appreciate that."

"Ah, well, you know. Close enough, right?" Standing up, Yosuke took off his scarf, then hesitated. He'd been putting up with his partner's stupid lovely face all night and been doing pretty well; it was alright to give himself a _little_ reward, right? He wouldn't do anything. Really. It'd be fine.

Ignoring Souji's outstretched hand, he leaned over and began draping the scarf around the boy's neck. However, as soon as he glanced at Souji's face, his mind went blank; suddenly, he couldn't help but notice how long his eyelashes were, how or that his eyes were incredibly silver and focused on him. Most of all, he noticed that his face was definitely not that red a few seconds ago.

Then, softly and without thinking, he pressed a kiss to Souji's lips.

It took a few moments for Yosuke to realize what he'd done, and just as he was about to jerk away and spout some ridiculous excuse-

_Souji kissed back_.

When they separated, Yosuke found that suddenly, nothing really mattered except for the way Souji stared up at him, face stained red with embarrassment. The biggest, most foolish grin worked its way onto the brunet's face, a low chuckle escaping his lips before he could stop it- and then silence.

"You know… I'm not your mom, though." _Ah yes, good job, Yosuke. That is _exactly_ what you wanted to say _(but he manages to make a smile spring on Souji's face nonetheless).

"I know." It was a short reply with an unsure edge to it, but what mattered was that his best friend was still smiling. More silence fell upon them until the words on the tip of Yosuke's tongue finally broke it.

"I don't want to leave," he whispered.

"…I don't want you to leave," murmured Souji in reply.

"Can I have my scarf back, then?"

"Hm… Only half."

"Good enough for me."

They sat closer than they did before, bodies touching, Yosuke's scarf wrapped around their necks, and sometimes looking at the stars. Mostly, though, they looked at each other, a little shy and a bit embarrassed, but mostly, they were just happy.

"Are we…?" Yosuke began tentatively.

"Yeah," Souji replied. A smile lit his face, and his fingers intertwined with the brunet's own. "Yeah, we are."

Blinking, the pink tinge to Yosuke's cheeks deepened, but he smiled back, butterflies fluttering in his chest. It could be nice, learning what it was like to have a hand to hold.

(But, he decided, only Souji's hand would do.)


End file.
